The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-12-24

effort to see the brightest sides of all OBJ
jects. If we would learn the speed of
racing man we must judge of him not while
he is sitting down, or standing still, but
while he is running Thus the power Of an
ago to be cheerful must be judged from its
conduct upon those days which are devoted
to fes5ivity. II the times of public rejoicing
can bring but little gladness, the other days
of the year must be reckoned as full of
hardship
Could we compare to-ether the December
of the first century, the December of the
Puritans and the December of 1887, those
three pictures would contain almost the
whole history of those differ ng dates They
would be photographs of three differing
faces-faces containing some points of re-
semblance but also many unlike features
Christmas proper is never a day. 1t is
really q week or about q month When the
almanac says December has come, then all
hearts begin to feel the presence of that
midwinter festival Each day add, to the
power Of this fe ling. The work of sisters,
mo hers, wives IS some bearing upon The
twenty fifth, and while that d " is still far
off by the estimate of the sun it is wonder
fully near in the estimate of the heart As
the trees and verdure along a river are
blessed by the rivers moisture il only in
Olo lOIul Oh u u Iii p ar duu u heavier Jew,
so the days long before Christmas are
touched with its sprit-the dew of It's love
The modern face would be brightest, the
saddest one would be that one nearest to
the tomb or cradle of Jesus Christ
The Romans perceived that one day did
not contain all the import of the midsum-
mer gayety. They therefore made no eff
fort to crowd their season into a single SUM-
Their SatUr1idSd continued seven days 1t
began as q one-day celebration and was
observed December 10Th, but as it was
soon found that that brief period was
cup too small to contain the wine of pleas
ure, it was extended to three days; at last
1t was enlarged by the Emperor Claudian SO
as to take in the 26th. In form, the festi-
val has now been changed back into the
one-day shape, but in reality Chri ~tmas is
much larger under our Presidents than it
was under Claudian and CaligulL
1t is a great mid-winter period, and may
vigil be looked upon as type OF the pubic
happiness or the public misfortunes of
given date. In the early Christian church
it became single day, because being asked
to stand for the b rth of Jesus it had to be
a formal day rather than a week, but no
such limil aGion could keep it from having
ad;,cen times which partook of its spirit,
9s dawn partahes of DAY.
The earliest Christmas was the saddest,
the latest Is the most joyful The heart
sinks when it recalls the fact that our pine
trees which bend with presents for old and
young. that our reunions of relatives, our
parties, amusem ms and cessation of labor
came from foundations that were la d in
tears While the early Chr .stians We're at
tempting TO celebrate their tavorite day
the Roman authorities were watching
them and arresting them as being enemies
OF the regular Sat,oTGiia and fr ends of a
new religion That feast which is now eel
ebrated in every paror and dning-room
and which cheers up all the streets of every
city and village was once observed in the
caves in the hills or in the cataconbs
under the streets OF Rome Rome, like
Paris was built upon solid rock. The ex-
cavations made by stone qu2rrios ran here
and there underground ike the out-reach-
ing drifts of q mime. Into these caverns